


Fragile in Design

by Syco



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:40:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1601939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syco/pseuds/Syco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hearts will always break, they're fragile in design. Sasuke finally discovers that the hard way when he messes up, one too many times.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Fragile in Design**

Another broken promise found passed out on a queen-sized bed. Naruto sat down by the head, his hands in his lap as he patiently waited, for what seemed like the hundredth time, for the paramedics to bust into the small penthouse apartment and cart him away.

Not for him, never for him. His eyes travelled to the man lying peacefully on the bed. Eyes blocking out the world, hand thrown across his forehead as though he had a severe headache. Black hair, usually sticking up at odd angles flattened against the pillow. He was breathing, as usual, but his pulse was irregular. His breathing was shallow and Naruto was tired.

He tried to stop the slight shake, scolding himself for it. This was normal, and he should stop being so upset every time he walked into his boyfriend's apartment to find him nearly dead.

He stood up angrily, and moved away from the bed. His heart clenched, demanding he take hold of those pale hands and whisper words of love, compassion, care and protectiveness. After the third time though he stopped, and he felt guilty.

He sighed again, waiting for the door to open, knowing that they would open the door even without him answering the warning knock. It was routine now.

Every four to six months Sasuke would end up passed out on the bed, barely alive. It had become tradition for Naruto or Itachi to just wander into his apartment without consent, (and secretly the neighbour whom Itachi paid to do) to ensure he was alive and well.

But like clock work, every four to six months Naruto would get a phone call (or be the one to call) about a patient who had overdosed, again. Then Sasuke would fight the hospital to release him, since he was over the age of eighteen they could not legally hold him longer than two days.

Within two days he was back out, and then later that year he would pay the hospital another visit via emergency ambulance ride, with a frantic Naruto leaving work or school to go to his bedside.

He was tired.

How long could he watch Sasuke kill himself? He glanced to the brunette, his heart aching and his eyes burning. How long until he actually killed himself? One day someone wasn't going to be around to watch him, and then he will be gone.

Even though he says he's not trying to kill himself, each and every time it's an accident, or a mix up or too many drinks with too many drugs. It was always an excuse, always something. But what if he can't be saved next time?

Naruto took a shuddering breath and glanced at the man he loved. The man, who before everything, was sweet caring kind and a normal bastard. The man he wanted to marry.

This person lying here barely breathing was not Sasuke Uchiha. This was an alien parasite parading around in his lover's body.

He stood up as the door opened and heard the paramedics make their way into the bedroom slowly, cautiously. Naruto smiled sadly at them, and pointed mutely to Sasuke.

One of them came over to talk to him. Routine questions for a routine lifestyle.

"What happened? What did he take? Where you here? Does he do this often? Is there anyone we should call?"

All robotic answers, all the same every time.

"He overdosed. Too many to list, I'm not even sure anymore. I came over and he was like this. Sometimes. His brother, Itachi."

Itachi was always to be called. He was family, the only one Sasuke had left, and the only person Sasuke seemed to see-not listen to, but see. Naruto was nothing compared to Itachi.

Sometimes Naruto was sure he was nothing to Sasuke. Why else would he break that promise? How many times he broke it, Naruto wasn't sure. One too many.

Naruto stood up and followed the paramedics out the door, down the elevator to the awaiting ambulance. They stood there waiting for Naruto to get in, but he shook his head. He wanted to think, needed to think. He watched them nod and start the truck.

His heart thudded loudly in his chest. He felt sick; he hated himself.

* * *

 

The familiar beeping sound dragged him out of his unconscious bliss and made him realize that he had fucked up, again.

He kept his eyes closed, knowing his brother was sitting in the red chair staring disappointedly at him. He was always there.

"I know you're awake." That cool voiced called to him, and Sasuke opened his eyes. He felt tired, his body was sore and his head was pounding. He hated being in the hospital, and he never understood why he would always screw up somehow.

But this time he had been careful. He did not mix his drugs, or drink anything with them.

"You took too much." Itachi explained, his eyes dark and pissed. "Again," he added with a sigh.

Sasuke mutely nodded. He hated this. He hated being in the hospital with his brother sitting by his bedside with disproval; Naruto usually was in the hallway with a cup of coffee, his phone in his lap as he stared dead at it.

Why did he always go back to drugs? Why did he always fuck up?

"I will be taking you home in a few hours." Itachi muttered, his eyes were closed off and tired.

That was odd, why was Itachi taking him home? Itachi has never taken him home from the hospital before; it was always Naruto.

Sasuke scanned the hospital room and did not see a single trace of his boyfriend. Where was Naruto?

Itachi stared at him, his eyes hard and cold. Colder than Sasuke has ever seen, and he shrunk back into his bed, willing it to open up and swallow him.

"He's gone." Itachi stated, his eyes resting on his younger sibling.

That can't be right.

"Who is gone?"

Itachi just stared at him, sighed and closed his eyes. "These drugs are really screwing up your mind."

"He wouldn't-" Sasuke croaked, his eyes tired his head pounding. His mouth was too dry for a conversation.

"Did you expect him to stay with you?"

Sasuke frowned. Of course he did, Naruto was the one solid foundation that was never going to leave him. His one constant, the one he could depend on. The blond was everything he wasn't-positive, full of smiles, and bright.

"Sasuke, he has been with you for six years," he murmured out, "six years and look how you treat him?"

Sasuke shook his head, dispelling the words. It wasn't true, Naruto wouldn't….he just wouldn't.

"You're lying."

"I spoke to him twenty minutes ago Sasuke." Itachi hotly told, "he's done."

"Stop." Sasuke murmured, "this isn't funny."

"Good." Itachi scolded, "maybe you will learn something for once."

He felt his blood boil, how dare Itachi. How dare Naruto! What happened to sticking with someone through thick and thin? Through good times and bad times? For better or for worse?

Naruto was his everything.

He was not going to lose that. He would not allow it.

"Give me your phone."

"No."

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"I need to speak to him."

Itachi glared at him. "For what? To tell him you're sorry? That it will never happen again? Please to forgive you? You said this all before, and you expect to say it again to him?"

Sasuke deflated, his heart lurched.

"He wouldn't…why would he leave me?"

Itachi's eyes softened, the man on the bed reminded him so much of a young innocent child.

"What reason did he have to stay?"

"I love him."

Itachi nodded, that was probably the most honest thing that Sasuke had ever said to Naruto. He never doubted Sasuke's feelings.

"He loves you."

Sasuke stared, curious and confused into Itachi's eyes. His hand were clenched at his sides, his face was paler than normal.

"Then why…?"

"Think about it from his perspective Sasuke."

Sasuke mulled that over.

If Naruto had been to the hospital for drug over dose…he furrowed his brow. He didn't even know how many times he had been here for overdosing. Anyway he had probably been here three times, so going off that.

If Naruto had over-dosed three times and ended up in the hospital, Sasuke would be pissed. Why would Naruto do that to himself, he had so much to live for, so much happiness in him that it was hard to image his boyfriend on this bed.

But that's different. Naruto was different. He was happy.

If Naruto were in this bed instead, Sasuke would still be there for him. He felt bitter bile rise up in his throat at the fact that Naruto had abandoned him.

"There's no excuse Itachi," Sasuke said determination in his voice, "I would have been there-"

"Really?" Itachi mocked, "you would have continued to support him after overdosing seven times in the past three years? You would stayed with him after you had lost a job from calling in too many times sick as he stayed with you while you vomited your life down the drain?"

Sasuke paled, he hadn't done that. That wasn't his fault.

"Would you stick with the one person you love who was purposefully killing themselves in turn killing you? Do you even know what this does to him? To me?"

Sasuke felt sick. This was not his fault. How dare Itachi turn it on him!

"I don't need this." He muttered out darkly, "I don't need to deal with your shit." He growled out, "what it does to him? To you? Don't make me laugh. You don't care what happens to me! He certainly doesn't care! He's not even here! So don't you dare preach to me about how much he seems to care when he isn't even fucking here!."

Itachi stood up, humour wiped from his face and promises of death issued from his eyes.

"You make me sick."

Good, because he was feeling just as sick.

* * *

 

It was two days later that Sasuke sat in his apartment, feet kicked out on his coffee table with a bottle of scotch placed just at his heel.

Water was dripping down his hand from the cold glass but he couldn't care. He felt empty.

He took a large swing of the drink, sloppily leaned forward to snatch the bottle from the table. Just as he was pouring another drink he heard the soft click of his door lock and quiet footsteps as someone entered his apartment. He didn't care. They could steal whatever they found, or even kill him, what was there left in his life.

He smiled bitterly and stared down into the amber liquid before smirking and taking a sip. Fuck life.

"Sasuke?"

He turned his head to the voice and a malicious smile spread across his lips. He went to place the glass on the table, nearly missing.

"Well if it isn't Naruto," he chuckled staring at the impassive blond man whose gaze was fixated on the scotch bottle. Like he cared.

"What are you doing?" he curiously asked, his eyes dancing around the room. He was holding a small brown box and Sasuke knew what was in there. His things.

"You really are dead last. What does it look like?" he shot an angry glare, his eyes firmly on the box that held everything he ever left over at Naruto's house. Everything the blond wanted or forgot, things they shared. Like the life they were supposed to share.

Naruto sighed, and moved into the living room more; his bright blond hair descending into the darkness that surrounded Sasuke.

"I just wanted to give these back to you." He held the box out for Sasuke who scolded in distain to it.

"I don't want that shit."

Naruto seemed to tense, he slowly placed the box down on the ground beside the arm of the couch.

"Keep it." He told firmly and turned around walking back to the door. Sasuke growled, stood up and picked up the box. He took out a book and quickly threw it towards the retreating back.

Naruto froze as the book hit in him the middle of his back. Thankfully it was a soft cover novel and that Sasuke's drunkenness threw off his aim.

"I don't want it!" he hollered. Naruto didn't even turn around and walked towards the door he had entered from. Sasuke felt panic rise into his chest, Naruto can't leave. He reached into the box again pulling out a shirt, he angrily tossed it aside and found a crystal oriamnet of a fox he had given Naruto.

Naruto loved that ornament, and Sasuke felt poetic justice as he threw it at his ex-boyfriend.

Naruto froze, his heart hammering as he heard the glass shatter to the wall he was standing right next to. Sasuke was obviously not aiming at him, but it still made him freeze. He turned around and stared at the man whom he loved, and his heart lurched. This is what he had become.

He felt pity and anger all swell up in him. Not only at Sasuke but at himself-for allowing this, for sticking with someone this gone.

"What is your problem?" Naruto darkly asked, finally having looked down at the glass and recognizing it as one of the most precious things he held dear to him-right under his necklace that he got from his godmother.

It was the fox crystal that Sasuke had given Naruto as a house-warming gift, four years ago. It was the only thing he had reconsidered giving back to Sasuke, but every time he looked a it his eyes stung and he had to physically pry himself away from the room as to not stare at it.

Sasuke knew how much that fox meant to him, and it lay shattered at his sneakers. Just like their relationship.

"You! You're my problem!"

Naruto closed his eyes. He needed to calm down; his heartbeats were too irregular.

"You just waltz into my life and leave when things get tough!?" He bitterly laughed and smiled, almost tripping as he took a step forward and knocking into the box. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Naruto shook his head. He moved to turn around, to walk to the door to leave this behind. To try and start new, to try and mend. He stopped though, when he saw the hurt and anger flashing through Sasuke's eyes. Raw emotion was a rarity for him.

"You can't just leave me."

It was a demand, and Naruto decided he had overstayed his welcome. He turned around and moved towards the door in calm and calculated steps. He needed to leave; had to leave.

He reached for the door handle when he felt Sasuke shove him into the door. The gold knob digging into his stomach and pain blossomed in his head as it was slammed against the wood.

"Who the fuck said you could leave?!"

It felt like he yelled it, even if it was spoken harshly into his hear, the smell of alcohol strong.

Naruto shoved his foot out, kicking Sasuke in the shin, making the man stumble back and releasing Naruto.

He glared at the man who tumbled back, hitting the floor harshly from losing his balance.

"How dare you." He shook out, anger radiating through every pore. "You do not own me Sasuke. You never owned me, and never will. I am leaving you because look at yourself! This is not the Uchiha I started dating. Every time you said you would get clean, I believed you, but meanwhile you were sucking face downtown with some random bimbo!"

Yes, Naruto knew. A co-worker had seen Sasuke dancing with some nameless woman and later on saw them again huddled in a corner making out. Naruto at first thought it was absurd, someone who looked like Sasuke was there-but after convincing he went down to the club and saw it for himself.

He also realized that Sasuke was also high as hell and probably was not aware of what he was doing. Naruto took small comfort in that and the fact that he never seem to do anything below the waist-always just kissing. It still hurt to know.

"Yet, I stayed. I stayed when I lost my job from having to stay home with you so often. I fucking stayed when I walked in on you shooting up, and even stayed after you offered me some!" He shouted, his mind flashing back to the needle that he was offered.

"I stayed after you were carted away on a stretcher, I stayed as they told me you had almost died. I fucking stayed! I stayed through all of it, the fist fights, the overdoses, the cheating. I can't anymore. I'm tired Sasuke."

Sasuke stared at him for a few minutes. Listening, actually listening to the words. Words of denial on his lips, but his foggy memory was pushing forth the truth.

"I love you." He murmured out, as though that solved their problems and Naruto's eyes softened. He moved closer to his ex-boyfriend, and placed a comforting hand on Sasuke's shoulders.

"I love you more than you love you," Naruto told, and placed a sweet chaste kiss on his lips. It was over before he knew it and he felt his heart break, it was a goodbye kiss. This was really happening. "You need to love yourself again Sasuke."

"I can't without you."

Naruto digested that and took his hand off Sasuke's shoulder. It felt unbearably cold suddenly.

"You couldn't with me either."

And like that he was gone. Out of the apartment out of his life, just gone.

Sasuke kneeled on the floor, his legs shaking and his eyes burning but not leaking. He couldn't seem to cry and his heart was screaming at him for letting Naruto leave. He put his hands to his head and shook it, as though dispelling a bad nightmare.

Nothing changed.

His eyes lingered near the closed door and saw the destroyed fox. He stood up, shakily and moved to the broken pieces.

He kneeled down and tried to figure out how to rearrange the broken pieces. He wanted to fix this. His hands were shaking as he noticed that he could not repair this, but Naruto loved that fox. He felt sick with himself for destroying the fox.

He glanced at the scotch and stood up. He stumbled slightly once he reached the table and picked it up, forsaking his glass and taking it to his lips. He took a long chug, and right after picked up the half-full bottle and hurled it across the room.

He listened to the glass break and the liquid seep out onto the walls and to the floor. He sank into the couch and stared at the stain on the wall.

'What have I done?'


	2. Part II

Sasuke had stopped counting the days after six months. The weeks blended together, the seasons continued to move forward. He stood on the street corner, nameless bodies continuing their day to day lives, not knowing that Sasuke Uchiha was celebrating being one year sober.

It had taken him two months after Naruto left him for him to realize that drugs and alcohol did not work for him. He had dragged himself to a detox centre, stumbling into the facility only to leave in two days. The withdrawal didn't seem worth it. But he ended up crawling back to the rehab facility several times over the course of a year, almost as it too were a drug.

The problem he had going into rehab was he was doing it for Naruto. So whenever it got tough, he would remind himself religiously that Naruto would come back if he was clean. Yet, when the withdrawals got too much and the craving too powerful he would snarl and realize that Naruto had left him alone in the world. He would not be there waiting, so Sasuke left rehab. Every time.

There was no light-bulb moment when he stumbled back into that rehab facility wanting to get clean for the last time. It was more of a tired realization. The drugs and alcohol controlled him. He was weak to the cravings and he decided rehab was for himself, not for Naruto. He wanted to be stronger than the drugs.

He suffered through the withdrawals, the annoying family meetings, and social group therapy. He managed to walk away clean, even ignoring as the media showered him in blinding flashes of cameras and asked him loud questions with no answers.

It was the single greatest thing he had ever done for himself. He was no present and participating in his own life. His career was starting to pick up again, and his daily life was no longer splashed across the headlines in hollywood. The general public seemed to respect him more for seeking help, and although he didn't like the public knowing his every move and decision, he was grateful for the support.

The year sober went by without colour. The temptation to find a dealer always itching at the back of his mind, but he dealt with them. Relapsed once, but started his sobriety count again. It had been one full year without a single drink or hit, and he was content. Not happy, just content.

The solution to finding his happiness was Naruto. He was always tempted to track the cheerful man down, but he had decided that he had caused enough damage to him. It was only fair that Naruto be allowed to live a life free of Sasuke, and he was going to respect that because Naruto was his world.

A sigh escaped his lips as he stood firmly in place waiting for his driver. The sunglasses covered his dark eyes so the world would not recognize him, leaving him to be anonymous. A hood was draped over his noticeable hair, as he stood motionless at the corner hands stuffed into his pockets. He would always find his eyes straying to anything bright, hoping that he would just catch a glimpse of his ex-lover. Maybe if he saw the man, he would remember what breathing felt like.

He turned his gaze away from a petite woman who had dusty blond hair, no one had the right shade to capture his interest. He felt his phone vibrate from within his pant pocket. Expertly he took the phone out, lazily checking the caller ID.

'Private'.

He frowned, keeping the phone out and debating whether he should answer it. Had his number been leaked to the media again? If it had, someone was going to be out of a job. He decided against his better judgement to answer the call.

* * *

 

Life was routine for Naruto. Monday through Friday consisted of juggling school, volunteer and working. Saturday and Sunday were catch up and social calls, and then when Monday strolled around again he would repeat the cycle.

Thursdays he volunteered down in a forgotten neighbourhood nestled between the wealthy and middle class. An area he was fondly familiar of, having had the fortunate experience of growing up a few blocks from the community centre he found himself at every week. He says fortunate because, without the hard reality of scrapping by day-to-day and rude reminders that money did not come from trees, he learned about life more than any pampered prince could.

He had an attachment to the neighbourhood and so he volunteered in it. Wanting to be closer to his roots, where his family struggled but laughed. He volunteered to teach teenagers about alternatives to the lifestyles they were taught to lead or thought they had to have. Most teens in this area grew up dealing drugs, doing drugs, selling themselves for a quick buck, or resorting to armed robbery. None of the kids who showed up wanted to be there, but where forced by an underpaid concerned school councillor.

His co-instrutor for the after school program dropped of their keys to the front desk before they both silently left the community centre.

"What are your plans for the weekend?" Imo quietly asked, brushing her platinum blond hair out of her face revealing pastel blue eyes. She was similar in appearance to him, and unlike him did not share the same love for this neighbourhood. She was there because she wanted to help, but not these kids. She just wanted to help someone, so she's helping them.

Naruto shrugged, not really knowing or caring what his weekend was going to consist of. "Not quite sure, might spend a nice evening with my one true love." He grinned at her, shouldering his messenger bag more comfortably.

He heard her soft snort. "You need a life." Ino muttered with a soft smile, "your obsession with ramen is unsettling."

"Ramen has always been there for me when nobody else was, and it will always be there-"

"Would you like to come out with me and some of my girlfriends?" She continued on, ignoring his memorized spiel about how glorious and divine ramen truly was. "We decided to hit a club downtown for a girls night out."

"Do I look like a girl to you?" He gestured to his body, specifically hovering over his chest.

Ino chuckled, "no but we can make an exception."

Naruto smiled genuinely at that but shook his head, "I'll pass."

She hummed but didn't reply. They settled into their usual chit-chat about what had happened today during their group session, about which kids were being honest with themselves and which ones were still fighting against the idea of a different lifestyle.

They had reached the corner where they would normally split up. Ino lived close enough to walk out of the neighbourhood and into her own, stating she enjoyed the thirty minute walk home every day because it gave her some needed exercise. Naruto never commented instead would always give his usual farewell, grin and a warm hug followed by a promise to see each other next Thursday.

Instead of breaking off, Ino turned around the corner walking past Naruto with a gleeful smile on her face. "This week I'm tagging along on the train." She smiled, ignoring how it had thrown Naruto off from their usual routine. He instantly fell into step beside her.

"My friend Sakura lives in your area, we're meeting at her place before we head downtown." She supplied, and Naruto remember another time Ino had mentioned her friend Sakura. Ino fondly called her a friend, although most of her stories were filled with amused anger. They seemed more like rivals than friends and it always reminded him of Sasuke.

He closed his eyes, thinking back to Sasuke. Everyday his ex would creep into his mind and devour every other thought. It would freeze his soul and he would have to chant to himself that he had to keep walking forward. The regret and hate at himself would leave him breathless and he could not afford to fall apart on a busy sidewalk. He would shift his mind back to why he had left Sasuke in the first place, and the anger would fuel his feet to move.

It was such a whirlwind of emotions that it left him physically exhausted. It was so frequent that he had learned to conceal the inner turmoil with a bright smile and dim eyes. Nobody noticed.

He closed his eyes briefly, willing his mind to remove the name Sasuke from its folders before opening them and nodding to something Ino had babbled on about. He could smell the fresh bread and cinnamon buns from the local bakery that they often went into to grab some snacks for the kids at the meeting. He had passed the doorway when a hard body collided with him sending him crashing to the ground, and made Ino shriek in surprise.

The back of his head had collided with the unforgiving sidewalk. He audible groaned and heard Ino's worried voice scolding the man who had carelessly caused Naruto to fall. Naruto turned his head to the person who had rammed into him, noticing that there was something shiny in his waistband. The person whipped it out and aimed it at Ino.

Naruto's eyes widened and Ino's voice was silenced instantly. He struggled to get up, causing the man to turn his sights on Naruto. Without thought and fear crossing unfamiliar eyes a shot was fired and Naruto felt blinding pain. His mind started to become hazy, there was muffled underwater shouts nearby and agonizing screams that sounded distant. The pain was intense, he cracked his lips open to do something, but it took substantial effort to even do that.

So instead he brought shaky hands down to his abdomen, where the pain radiated from and felt something warm and sticky. Blood, his mind supplied.

He heard more shots, ringing loudly through his deafened ears. He forcibly moved his head, wheezing as he did so and set unfocused eyes on Ino who was clothing her shoulder. The man who had shot them hovering nearby, alarmed. His stance was rigid, but those frightened eyes turned to Naruto and he bolted. Leaving Ino staggering near a lamp post and a nameless man clutching his leg.

Ino's eyes were shutting and he could imagine the pain she was in. He felt his eyes dropping closed, even as the person hovering over him was whispering for him to keep his eyes focused and open.

He was scared so he closed his eyes.

* * *

 

He was sitting in a distressed waiting room and he felt sick. His stomach was a stormy sea and his heart was ready to jump out of his body to run away from this nightmare. Sasuke never felt so helpless and that made him irritable. A part of him wanted to harm anyone who so much breathed near him and the dark part of him wanted to find a dealer just to find peace.

He shook the thought away, dispelling the appealing thoughts that were slowly driving him towards the entrance of the emergency room. Yet he always turned around and sat back down on the hard plastic chairs, waiting and praying for good news. He kept cooing to his stomach to stop trying to drown him with tidal waves of nauseous and his mind to stop supplying images of a dead Naruto so his heart can beat again.

The phone call that he had answered, that he had almost ignored, replayed in his mind. There has been an accident. Naruto Uzumaki is at Fire General, I suggest you get down here immediately.

He got his driver to break the speed laws and rushed into the emergency room demanding answers. The nurse looked sympathetic although it seemed to be permanently etched onto her skin. She checked the computer with a high degree of professionalism, ignoring as nurses came and went from the station, and politely told him that Naruto was taken in for surgery.

He had to wait. They didn't have a room ready for Naruto yet, so the best they could do is get Sasuke to just sit patiently and wait for more information. He was not amused but he gave the lady a curt head nod and found a place between a burly man who was coughing into a Kleenex and a elderly man who was nursing a bad arm.

Time ticked on and he kept a steady rhythm of bouncing his leg in agitation. He knew the elderly gentleman beside him didn't appreciate the movement, but Sasuke was close to forcing his way into the operating room just to see his ex-lover. The thought of losing Naruto left him numb. Even if they weren't together, Naruto was supposed to live until he was the ripe old age of hundred with laughter and and a smile on his face. Not young, not because of an accident.

He was surprised in the time they had spent apart that Naruto hadn't changed his next of kin. That Sasuke was still privileged enough to be considered the person to call in case of an emergency. It was a request Naruto had shyly asked him after his godfather's death. He can almost remember that encounter like it had happened yesterday, and he felt his eyes prick with tears.

He wouldn't have to dwell in the past because there would be a future. Naruto was not allowed to die.

Two hours, and he was still in surgery. Surgery that had started thirty-minutes before he got there.

Three hours and Sasuke was pacing the floor, running a hand through his damp ebony hair. The people sitting beside Sasuke had been replaced with a young man with weary eyes. When that happened he had no idea.

"Sasuke Uchiha?" a petite nurse with dark flowing hair confidently called. Sasuke quickly stood and walked towards her, catching her dark eyes and a soft smile crawled onto her features. That was a good sign right? That had to be good news.

His heartbeat matched his footsteps and he stood beside her, queasiness filling his stomach and lungs.

"Come with me," she beckoned in a comforting voice. Sasuke didn't have to be told twice, following her like a lost puppy. "Naruto pulled through, they're moving him into a semi-private room in ICU. His doctor will want to talk to you, but you can sit with him. He's still asleep but it should wear off within a few hours," she told twisting and turning through the hallways.

An elevator ride to the second floor and more turns before they arrived the ICU ward. She stopped at one door and dropped his chart into the slot, before picking up the other metal clipboard there and scanning it. She made a small sound before returning it to its previous spot. Sasuke just stood frozen and she must have noticed his hesitation because he felt her place a small hand on his shoulder.

"He pulled through," she said again with a gentle smile. "The hard part is over."

He wasn't so sure but he nodded and she left his side. He took a controlled breath, repeating that Naruto was in there alone. That in itself was an injustice, so he had to fix it. Yet his legs wouldn't cooperate. His hand was hovering above the door, and it fell away.

He almost wanted to check himself in for how sick he was feeling. This was wrong, someone who hadn't destroyed Naruto's life should be there. Someone purer. He turned his eyes away and closed them. But he was still next of kin, there was no one else.

Sasuke shook the sick feeling away, trying to stay focused. He would do this for Naruto and for himself. If he left now, ran away, he would return to a lifestyle that destroyed him and cost him everything worth living for. He deserved better and he would go insane with guilt if he abandoned Naruto now.

"The door won't open unless you turn the knob."

Sasuke turned to the new voice and saw a slender man with a stethoscope slung around his neck. His silvery hair was disorganized but his grey eyes were shining with mirth.

He didn't reply instead turned his attention back to the solid door in front of him. It was simple to open a door.

"Are you here for Mr. Uzumaki?" the man curiously asked, stepping up to stand beside Sasuke and retrieving the metal clipboard the nurse had deposited there. He didn't trust his voice so he gave a quick nod.

"I'm Dr. Hatake," the man introduced extending his arm to Sasuke, "the general surgeon who worked on him."

Sasuke extended his own hand and gave a strong shake before each of them dropped their hands.

"He's a fighter," Dr. Hatake began with a eerily gentle smile on his face, "the bullet wound left some damage but nothing permanent. We removed the bullet but that caused him to crash. He pulled through, his pulse right now is a little irregular but that could be because his body had undergone such an intense shock. We'll be monitoring his pulse and breathing for a couple days and then he'll be free from ICU to recover somewhere else in the hospital." He grinned and replaced the chart back on the door.

Sasuke felt his heart stop. Bullets. Crashed. Breathing. His mind spun with the thought of Naruto being shot. That wasn't possible, nobody would shot someone so innocent and carefree. What monster would harm such a person?

"If he wakes up call a nurse, he might be in some pain especially in the abdomen where the bullet entered." The doctor continued, aware of the fact that Sasuke fist was clenched tightly at his side. "He's going to be okay."

Sasuke gave another nod, not daring to trust his voice and didn't move. The doctor didn't leave either, staring understandably at Sasuke.

"If he wakes up alone he might be scared, delirious and unsure of where he is. It's best if someone is with him."

He felt his throat close up and he couldn't swallow. Everything was too much, and his heart wouldn't stop beating his chest. He took a deep breath and placed a shaky hand on the knob. It was cold against his calmly skin and he was almost reluctant to remove it once he had twisted the door and opened it.

The doctor left after Sasuke released the knob and entered the room. Naruto wasn't the first patient in the room, another man was laying in a sterile hospital bed, flowers decorated his night stand. His eyes were shut to the world.

Sasuke took hesitant steps into the room, and stopped once he caught sight of the second bed and Naruto lying in it. He almost turned around because this was just a nightmare. Naruto couldn't be laying lifelessly in a unfamiliar hospital bed with a mask over his face and two separate IV drips. The sound of the monitor beside his bed kept a steady beat and Sasuke relished in the sound. Even if it was a nightmare, Naruto was still alive.

His brain rebooted and he took the rest of the steps needed to get him into a plastic chair by Naruto's bed. He didn't dare touch the tanned hand that didn't belong on white sheets. Instead he just watched the heart monitor with a silent prayer that he would wake up soon, back when everything made sense and this nightmare didn't exist.

* * *

 

Itachi never wanted to hear the despair in Sasuke's voice again. Having heard the voicemail asking Itachi to come to Fire General, with no details, left a sour taste in his mouth. If something had happened to Sasuke, his mother and father would have called Itachi, but they didn't. Something else had happened and Itachi could count only one person who could cause his brother to sound distressed.

He was not prepared to see his brother sitting on a questionable hospital chair, pulled up against the bed of one Naruto Uzumaki. His hand rested beside the tanned one as though afraid to touch it. He had never seen his younger brother look so vulnerable and all he wanted to do was shield Sasuke from the world.

His eyes focused on Naruto. The bright hair was drowned out by the suffocating white in the room, blue eyes closed to the world. Forced air into his lungs and a machine keeping track of how many beats his heart was taking. It was wrong. The entire scene was wrong and Itachi had half of mind to return to the front and ask for them to fix this immediately.

Itachi stepped towards the duo, taking up guard on the other side of Naruto. Sasuke stirred at the sound, raising his head to meet Itachi. Tired recognition flashed and Itachi almost swore he saw relief. He could only imagine how insane he was going here alone, the only company an unconscious person. Sasuke rested his head back down but kept his eyes open.

"Why?" He whispered and Itachi knew he wasn't asking for an answer. The hollow sound never should belong to his brother and he was tempted to usher Sasuke out of the room so he could get some air. Distract him enough to forget this horrible reality.

An hour ticked by with both brothers in silence, no movement from the bed. A nurse had come in and out to check on the bags and his vitals, waving and introducing herself to the two brothers before she had left.

The door opened again and Itachi was sure it was the nurse again, but it wasn't. Instead two uniformed officers entered the room, their hats in their hands as they slowly made their way towards Sasuke and Itachi. Itachi recognized them instantly and he frowned. Why where they here?

"What are you doing here?" the redhead office asked, hazelnut eyes gliding over the room and resting on the unconscious blond on the bed. Itachi saw the disappointment fill those eyes and he found himself glancing at Naruto too. Did they know him?

"He's a friend." He crisply told, "what are you and Deidara doing here?"

"He's our victim," the man motioned to Naruto. The other office took a seat near Sasuke causing the younger boy to quirk an eyebrow at the blond officer.

"Victim?" Itachi murmured quietly, his mind drawing back to Sasuke's echoing voice from the message he left.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Deidara called, his eyes not leaving the boy in the hospital bed. "He's apart of an ongoing investigation."

He scolded and turned his attention to Naruto. Memories of the first time Sasuke brought Naruto home, the bright grin and sheepish laughter that surrounded the Uchiha for days.

"Investigation for what?" He had to be careful when asking, although he was a police officer in the same division of these two, he didn't want to get into trouble for getting involved in something that was personal. He wouldn't be allowed on the case at all because of conflict of interest but it doesn't mean that he couldn't use the fact that they were coworkers to gain some information.

"How do you know him Itachi?" the red head, Sasori, asked going to stand beside Deidara who had taken up the art of watching Naruto.

"He's my ex-boyfriend," Sasuke spoke quietly glancing at the two officers.

"You're gay Sasuke?" Deidara asked eyeing the boy with blatant interest. Itachi glared at Deidara, almost daring him to try anything with his little brother. Thankfully Sasuke didn't reply instead turned his attention back to Naruto.

"Well Itachi," Sasori sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Our perpetrator robbed a diner a few blocks away when he ran into Naruto. Apparently he knocked the boy down, and it freaked him out. He shot Naruto and turned his gun on a couple of people who were nearby. The sustained minor injuries. An hour later we got a call, our prep shot himself in his apartment. He didn't make it."

Itachi watched as the information sunk into his brother, and the obvious need he had to touch the hand that he was centimetres away from.

"We just needed to get his account of the story," Deidara supplied, "so we'll just have to wait until he wakes up."

Nobody spoke after that, The silence stretched for thirty minutes before a nurse stepped in and politely told Sasuke and Itachi that visiting hours were over. She encouraged them to come back the next morning at 10 and she was sure that Naruto would be awake by then.

Sasuke seemed reluctant to leave, but he nodded and stood up. Itachi followed his pace.

"Don't screw this up." He threatened to the two officers, recalling tales of their stupidity that had caused cases to go south. It was mostly Deidara's short temper that caused the problems. If Itachi found out that they had accidentally unplugged Naruto's oxygen supply, he would ensure that they vanished without a trace.

"Have some faith in us Itachi, we're still employed. If we were that bad we wouldn't be on the force." Sasori calmly told, obviously squeezing Dediara's shoulder who looked ready to tackle the oldest sibling.

"Hn."

With that being said they left, just missing as blue eyes hazily opened.

* * *

 

The ICU doors opened right at 10 allowing the people who were swarming around the doors to enter. Sasuke moved towards a door he shouldn't have to see, but wouldn't be anywhere else.

The first thing he noticed was all the curtains were drawn back, leaving no privacy to the occupants but also showed that both Deidara and Sasori were no longer in the room. They must have been able to speak to Naruto, or they gave up and went home because their shift was over. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling the weight of everything from the past twenty-four hours crash down on his shoulders.

He took his cautionary steps towards Naruto's bed, taking a seat in the same place he had yesterday. His eyes remained closed to the world, but the bed was propped up and the oxygen mask was nowhere in sight. Those were good signs, and a soft smile found its way onto Sasuke's face. He buried his head in the bed and closed his eyes.

He barely slept last night and he felt overwhelming tired being beside Naruto.

A small gasp drew his attention up and he was met with bleary blue eyes who were staring at him confusedly.

Sasuke pulled back, almost falling out of the chair and stared at those blue eyes. Surprised to see them open, blinking, alive. His heart decided to stop for the moment so he could focus on how to breathe again.

Those blue eyes turned playful and a grin that spread like wildfire across his face had Sasuke forgetting how to breathe.

"What brings you here?" Naruto curiously asked in a scratchy voice, hands settled on his lap fidgeting with the white sheet.

"The hospital called," Sasuke began, "I..." he faltered. Thinking that maybe Naruto thought he wouldn't show up even if the hospital did call him, "What did you want me to do?" Did he expect Sasuke to act as though his life meant nothing?

The confusion crossed those blue eyes, "why would they-" and like he was hit by a truck he shut his mouth. The memories of his godfather's death filtered through blue eyes along with the request he had asked of Sasuke.

"Oh." he mumbled out, eyes sad. "You didn't have to-"

"I had to." He sternly told, "I had to be here." If he was home, it would have been destroyed with worry. If he decided not to show up he would have turned back to a drug that controlled him. If he hadn't come nobody would have been here when Naruto woke up because there is nobody left for Naruto. Except Sasuke. Sasuke would always be there for Naruto even without being asked, even if they never touched each other again.

"I had to." He whispered.

Naruto watched as the strong emotions swam through those dark eyes. He had to turn away or he was going to get lost in them forever. He thought he had saw both Sasuke and his brother yesterday night, but he wasn't sure because before he could call out to them he was being politely questioned by two police officers.

They filled in the details of what had happened and when he had voice his concern for Ino, they had reassured her she was fine and resting comfortably in a different part of the same hospital. He made a note to go visit her when he got a wheelchair and a nurse was willing to.

His throat felt dry and he quickly reached the bedside table to grab the plastic cup that the nurse had dropped off that morning with breakfast. He winced immediately at the movement, his hand moving down to his stomach where he had been shot. The pain muddled the fact that being shot felt so surreal to him.

Sasuke was on his feet instantly as though he had personally harmed him, causing Naruto to restrain a chuckle. He placed his hand out, trying to grab the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt to tell him that he was fine. The pain would pass and he would be lulled back to a content state by the drugs that they had pumped him full of. But before he could reach Sasuke's black shirt, he noticed the man tense and the air thicken.

"What's wrong?"

Sasuke sat back down and his eyes were distant, as though he was no longer within the room. "You're married," he finally rasped out almost as though if he didn't say it it would become untrue.

Naruto frowned glancing down at the white band adorning his ring finger. A smile cropped up on his face, and he tenderly touched the white band. He twirled it on his finger, with adoration in his eyes that almost had Sasuke bolting from his seat and leaving.

"I'm not married," Naruto cut the tense silence with a soft smile.

Naruto watched as the way those dark brows furrowed in confusion. The declaration that he was not married, coupled with a ring on his left hand? It was definitely an interesting combination.

"Take a look at it," he moved hissing in pain at the way he was twisting his body as he clumsily removed the band. Wincing he stretched his arm out and gave the band to Sasuke's outstretched palm. He lay back with a quick pant and closed his eyes.

Sasuke stared at the warm ring for an intense moment. What if he was divorced but kept the ring for sentimental reasons? Naruto was obviously very fond of the ring, to have such a loving smile on his face. It made him happy, and a part of Sasuke was immensely jealous of whoever had given this ring to Naruto because it was a symbol of the happiness that Sasuke once had.

He didn't understand why he was looking at the white gold band and when he went to question Naruto noticed the soft even breathing. A snort erupted from his mouth and he shook his head in amusement. He held onto the ring, and ignored the way his body stung with betrayal at how happy Naruto appeared to be without him.

He wasn't alone for too long when he heard footsteps enter the room. Sasuke turned his attention and greeted his brother with a quick nod. Itachi replied and took a seat on the other side of Naruto, inspecting the machines with intensity Sasuke hardly ever saw on his brother.

"How is he?"

"Good."

Silence settled over them and Sasuke turned his attention back down to the ring in his hand.

"What are you looking at?"

Sasuke blinked and closed his fist around the ring, "Naruto's ring."

Itachi didn't reply, and Sasuke didn't take his eyes off the ring. It was beautiful. Simple yet elegant. It was a thick band, pure white but had two bevelled groves carved around the middle of the band. It suited Naruto.

"Read the inscription inside."

Sasuke whirled around and saw Itachi standing just beside his chair. When he had moved, Sasuke wasn't sure. He must have been completely focused on the ring to have noticed. He turned his attention to the ring and glanced inside the band. His eyes widened, there definitely was an elegant inscription inside the band.

_Forever Sasuke's_

His hands felt heavy and the ring, he almost dropped it as he stared at it as though it had transformed. His breath hitched, "this has to be a mistake." Yet the words still stared back at him.

"He bought two rings the day you left rehab," Itachi told, striding back to the other side of Naruto's bed. He brushed back the wet bangs from the tanned face. "He waited for you to call him after you left, but you never did."

Sasuke never called because Naruto deserved his freedom.

"He said he would wear it. He told me that he would wait for you." Itachi smiled down at Naruto, "he knew you would find your way back to him. He knows you very well."

Sasuke nodded, they had dated for six years. The last three years were very murky to Sasuke, that was when he had started using. The time when he lost Naruto.

"He never wanted to leave you. But we agreed, you needed a push to get yourself clean. So he decided to leave you, so you could figure out your own life. To learn to live for yourself. To love yourself again." Itachi murmured, "I'm glad I gave him the push to do it."

Sasuke blinked, heart racing. "You what?"

Itachi turned blazing eyes filled with love and sorrow, "He was dying Sasuke. You were slowly killing his soul with the infidelity and constant overdoses. He was never going to leave you, and you knew that. He took him for granted. You were not going to get yourself help until you lost him. It's a sad realization we both reached."

Sasuke felt betrayed, but masked it. His brother and boyfriend both organized for him to fall into depression? Did they not realize how screwed up he was after Naruto left, the fact that he almost contemplated ending it with a perfect overdose? Here Itachi was saying that he did all this, that Naruto leaving him was his brothers fault.

He shook his head, willing the anger down. As much as it was hurtful it was true. It was because he had nobody left to turn to that he decided to go to rehab. It was because Naruto was worth being clean for that he went, so they could be together again. This was his fault, nobody else's.

"We kept in contact," Itachi said, once again brushing back the bangs from Naruto's forward. A gesture that seemed too intimate, but Sasuke knew Itachi was in a committed relationship and thought only as Naruto as another brother. "He wanted to make sure you were okay without interfering in your healing process. When I told him you had finished rehab, he bought the rings to celebrate your strength. He knew in time you guys would be together again."

Sasuke stared down in amazement at the band in his hand.

"Idiot," he muttered standing up and leaning over the bed. Itachi had moved aside and strolled leisurely back to his seat. Sasuke placed his hand over Naruto's almost retracting it at the feel of the contact but held steady. He placed the band back where it belonged, on Naruto's ring finger. Sasuke quickly sat back down but never removed his hand from Naruto's.

He was never letting Naruto go again.

"You said he bought two rings?"

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I left some hints that Sasuke is someone famous. I mentioned reporters and hiding his identity, stars tend to get away with a lot more when it comes to alcohol and drug abuse so that is why Sasuke is never sent away to jail.


End file.
